PVs

PVs or Photovoltaic Cells. As we have mentioned before we installed them last winter. So what's the verdict? They are excellent, they have exceeded our expectations. We have 4x300 watt panels potentially giving out 1.2kw. They are a new generation of panels that do not need direct sunlight only a bright sky. For the sceptics 'Have we had 1.2Kw?' We do have on a regular basis over a kilowatt output and I have seen for a short period 1.18Kw. So I would say yes, after all I'm not watching the meters all of the time.

Minimum visual impact of the 4 panels on the wheelhouse roof.

Soraya is a gas free barge, we are all electric. Most barges use gas for cooking and often hot water. All our energy requirements are electric. This is good from the point of view we don't have a gas explosion risk. The difficulty is that all our electrical power input to the batteries has to come direct from the engine, generator, shore or solar. After the installation of the PVs we can navigate, stop wherever we want and never have to worry about power. We were in Metz recently for 2 weeks with no electrical power from the engine which we gain if we are navigating and no shore power yet we still had a full 100% battery charge due in part to excellent weather. We have not had any shore power for over 2 months and our average battery level is from 90-100% daily, despite running a washing machine, dish washer,  boiler for hot water, fans and all the other paraphernalia of modern living. It's great and free of running cost, no CO2 and totally silent. Obviously we did have the purchase cost. This is constantly being recovered as we do not often need to pay mooring or electricity fees as we do not need power. Pay back. Difficult to estimate perhaps 3 years, then we'll be euros in.